Townhall Review | Commentaries

To place our polarized politics in proper perspective, conservatives need to look back at the nearly half-century struggle known as “the Cold War.” The Soviet Union and its satellites really did amount to an “Evil Empire” and the US and our allies constituted the necessary counterweight of goodness and decency.

But many of the most important nations in the West—including Britain, France, Germany and Canada—were really “welfare states” with centralized, government-dominated economic policies, well to the left of anything the American Democratic Party demands for the US today.

Moreover, many domestic liberals- including Harry Truman, John Kennedy and Senator Scoop Jackson—played heroic roles in opposing the tyrannical menace of international Communism. This history should encourage conservatives to place our current conflicts in the right context. In this dangerous world, contemporary liberals—for all their wrong-headed ideas on health insurance, taxes or social issues—ought to count as necessary allies, not implacable enemies.

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There isn’t going to be a trade war with China. The risks of a real war with North Korea are now simply too high.

General Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, has said—and I quote—“It is not unimaginable to have a military option to respond to the North Korean nuclear capability. What’s unimaginable to me is allowing a capability that will allow a nuclear weapon to land in Denver, Colorado.”

Hisense Electric, a Chinese state-owned tech manufacturer, is now being sued in California courts by Sharp, a Japanese company now owned by Taiwanese company Foxconn. Sharp claims shoddy workmanship by Hisense has done deep damage to the Sharp brand.

Even though President Trump campaigned on an aggressive trade agenda with China, the reality is that the United States needs China right now more than we need fair trade.

Sharp and the state of California might have to fight for their own interests any legal way they can. But the federal cavalry isn’t coming over the hill in the China trade battle anytime soon.

The Trump administration needs to tell its grass-roots supporters why.

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On Sabbath eve of July 21st, the Salomon family in the Israeli community of Halamish prepared a “Shalom Zachor” celebration to welcome their new-born baby grandson. As they set out sweets and refreshments for their expected guests, a 19-year-old Palestinian stranger burst into the home and stabbed four members of the family, killing three of them.

The savage assault coated the floor of the kitchen and dining room with literally gallons of spilled blood, before an off-duty soldier, hearing the commotion in a neighboring home, shot and apprehended the terrorist.

The terror organization Hamas hailed the “operation” as “heroic” and the U.N. representative for the Palestinian Authority refused to condemn it. These reactions highlight the nature of the ongoing, worldwide struggle against Islamo-Nazi terror.

It’s not about borders, or mosques, or metal detectors: it’s about good and evil. Our domestic political differences look trivial by comparison.

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Nicolas Maduro, president—really dictator—of Venezuela recently held a sham election to rewrite the country’s constitution. The pretext for the vote was to create a new National Constituent Assembly to draft a new Venezuelan constitution.

Speaking in the White House briefing room, General H.R. McMaster said, “The sham election of the National Constituent Assembly [in Venezuela] represents a very serious blow to democracy in our hemisphere. Maduro is not just a bad leader. He is now a dictator.”

Shortly after the so-called election, opposition leaders were seized from their homes by Venezuela’s secret police. It is a humanitarian crisis in addition to a political one.

The United States has responded by imposing strict sanctions. No one in the U.S. can do business with Venezuela. Mr. Maduro also joins a very short list of heads of state who are personally sanctioned by our government.

Nonetheless, the question remains: Can the United States allow a dictator with ties to Iran to set up in Venezuela?

No. The U.S. must act.

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It has been rumored in Washington that President Trump may fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Although this is possible, it would be ill advised on the part of the president. If he and his staff are indeed innocent and have not colluded with the Russians (and there is no evidence to date that they have), then this will be over. Robert Mueller will not indict simply for the sake of indicting.

If, on the other hand, the president chooses to fire Mueller, he should expect his administration to undergo extraordinary stresses and his momentum to vanish over night.

Republicans have enough problems on their hands. There are 20 vacancies on the circuit court of appeals and over 100 vacancies on the lower courts for which there has not been a nomination put forward yet. This is unacceptable. It’s a failure of governance.

Republicans don’t need another Saturday Night Massacre 2.0 and firing Robert Mueller would be just that. The Trump administration should instead focus on putting forward originalist nominees for the depleted judiciary.

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I hope you heard about Senator John McCain’s heroic to the floor of the United States Senate to keep the effort to repeal and replace Obamacare alive.

We should—and his colleagues should—listen. With reference to “their deliberations” he said: “They can be sincere and principled. But they are more partisan, more tribal more of the time than any other time I remember.”

Senator McCain has seen and accomplished much during his decades as an elected official, in service to the people of Arizona and the country.

So his words from the Senate floor should serve as a warning to all of us: Our system of deliberative democracy is suffering and our public officials may only be making it worse.

It’s a sad observation from someone we should listen to.

For our part, we should focus on sending to Washington people are who are focused on solving problems, not just demagoging them; people who put patriotism above partisanship; people who appeal to what unites us, rather than what divides us.

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When you think about quality K-12 schools that put kids on a path to being successful, independent adults, do you think of gender inclusive toolkits, opposition to federal law enforcement, and support for the impeachment of the President?

If you do not, you probably were not at the National Education Association’s annual meeting where the aforementioned matters were included on its 159-point “new business” agenda.

In worldwide rankings, U.S. high school students do not make the top 20 in either science or reading and have dropped to 35th in math.
The NEA put forward 159 new business items and nary a one dealing with student performance, classroom instruction, or fiduciary responsibility.

The NEA has affiliates in all 50 states. They takeover school districts, subordinate intellectual development to political indoctrination, and purchase legislators who fund it all on your dime and at your kid’s expense.

So when the NEA tells you that their business is making your kid a sentinel of the welfare state, you should believe them—and maybe you should show up to a school board meeting too.

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Despite the partisan polarization that characterizes both politics and media at the moment, the public seems surprisingly united when it comes to defining Americanism. A new Voter Study Group survey associated with George Washington University, showed a full 93 percent agreeing that “respect for American institutions and laws” is important for being an American. Meanwhile, 88 percent believe it’s important to “accept people of diverse racial and religious backgrounds” to claim authentic American identity. Only 20 percent think “European heritage” should be part of Americanism but a full 85 percent—even 75 percent of Democrats!—believe it’s important to speak English and to embrace our common language.

All in all, the survey that interviewed 8,000 respondents showed a populace much less fractured, bigoted and resentful than often assumed. Nearly all of us understand that what makes us American isn’t where our ancestors came from, but the common ideals and shared culture that we uphold and advance.

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan face a very difficult choice as they survey the smoking ruins of their “unified GOP government” after nearly six months in office. They could decide to pivot from health care to racking up small victories and awaiting reinforcements from the 2018 elections. Or they could go for a big deal with Democrats. It’s a tough choice for Ryan and McConnell, but I’m hoping they opt for the latter.

Putting off fixing the disaster that is Obamacare is risky, though not impossible. If Republicans score enough small victories between now and November 2018, it may be possible to hold both houses of Congress.

The 2018 prospects look bad for both parties: The GOP lacks policy victories, thanks to imprudence of the Freedom Caucus in the House, and scared moderates and ridged conservatives in the Senate.. The Democrats are lost in Trump hatred to the point where a large part of the country thinks that they and the mainstream media are deranged. We are at a crisis point where citizens are giving up on representative government en masse.

So why not swing for the fences?

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Late last week we got the sad news that Senator John McCain has been diagnosed with a brain tumor—a malignant brain tumor.

I’ve been in this business a long time and it’s hard to remember a story about the U.S. Senate without McCain being a part of it. Since 1987, he has always been there and has always been part of the debate.

All of those who get the fact that American politics is a team sport have been frustrated with John McCain at one time or another, disappointed with him occasionally. But there’s no doubt that Senator McCain is a great American; a man of conviction; a patriot.

He’s been a Congressman, a Senator and the GOP nominee for President.

Before all that, though, Lt. Commander McCain served our nation in Vietnam as a Navy fighter pilot. He was shot down in October of ’67—only to suffer then 5 ½ years in captivity and never give in.

John McCain is a fighter.

Won’t you join me in hoping—and praying—that John McCain can fight back this round cancer and continue his service to the nation?

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